Romanica 2 St. Joan de Caselles

LOCATION
The church of Sant Joan de Caselles is placed on a little hill next to the river, right on the side of the road N-II direction France. BRIEF HISTORY OF SANT JOAN DE CASELLES
The existence of that church was firstly mentioned in 1312 during the visit of the bishop of the region to the rectory of Sant Cerni de Canillo, to which Sant Joan de Caselles had to pay an annual tribute which had not been paid for the last 10 years. There are no documents from those times confirming the theory of the existence of an important population in the area. However, a necropolis was recently found next to the church which proves it.
During the construction of the N-II road in the cirties, some human mortal remains were discovered. Nevertheless it was not until 1988, during the excavation of an 80 m2 area, that 30 graves ,orientated east, were discovered next to the apse of the church -at the south wall-. The church was probably built somewhen during the XI-XII centuries as the dating of the graves reveals. DETAILS OF THE CONSTRUCTION
The church of Sant Joan de Caselles is one of the most renowned of the Andorran romanesque style. It is located on the old path to Canillo -capital of the parish- on the upper part of the valley. It has a rectangular nave -orientated east to west- with a semicircular apse. On one side of the nave but separate, there is a belfry as well as two porches joined to the nave which were added to the main building years after its construction. The door is orientated north. Down the southern wall of the church there is a 20m of depth cliff leading towards the river. The door is formed by a plain horseshoe arch with no decoration. Three long, horseshoe arched windows illuminate the interior of the building. In the middle of the apse, there is another window of major size. The floor of the church is of wood. Some 50cm on top of it and made of big clay floor-tiles, are placed the presbitery and the apse. The semicircular apse, covered with a 1/4 of sphere ceiling, has the same width as the nave and was probably added to the construction later in time.
On the walls of the ground floor, there are some protusions that possibly supported the floor of a second storey.
As it is the case in most of the Romanesque constructions in the valley, the belfry is covered with several rows of balks of different sections, that placed on top of a square frame -one upon the other- form a pyramid. On top of these balks were placed some transoms for the supporting of the tiles. The holes that supported the scaffolding when the belfry was built are still visible. The structure of the porches is very plain. Only one wall covers the south part of it. The interior of the church has been muffled up and pinted while the exterior has only been partly muffled up. Typologically, Sant Joan de Caselles is a good example of the Andorran Romanesque churches of one nave and belfry. Although it is characteristic of the XII century, the construction of this church dates from the two centuries before. Scale: 1:50
Contents: 2900 pieces, 30 wood
Measurements: 200x360x260 mm Buildingmovie: press here Instructiones: press here Plan: press here

age recommendation: +8

WARNING! Not suitable for children under 36 months due to small pieces which may present a chocking hazard - DANGER OF SUFFOCATION !